Hook and eye.



A. T. VAN ALS TYN;

HOOK AND EYE.

APPLICATION FILED MAY 15, 1913..

Patented Jan. 11, 1916.

ALBERT 'T'. van aLsrYN, or EW YORK, 1v. Y.

HOOK AND Specification of Letters Patent;

Patented'Jair-il, 1916.

Application filed May 15, 1913. Seria11To. 7 67,950. v

1' b all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, ALBERT T. VAN A STYN, a citizen of the United States, residing in New York city, in thecounty of New York and State of New York, have inventved certain new and'useful Improvements in Hooks and Eyes, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to hook's-and-eyes of that general class which have an interlocking or detent feature for safe-guarding the eye against being too readily removable.

One object of my present improvements is to furnish hooks-and-eyes of that class, of such a construction that the hooks can be made by punching them from sheet-metal, and thereby make available for use in this manufacture, a more suitable quality and temper of the material and of lower relative cost; also, by such means, to provide for making the hooks with accuracy and uniformity and without requiring the use of the complex wire-bending machines heretofore necessary. 1

It will be remembered that when sheet metal, especially brass, is of suitable charac ter or composition, and is then rolled to give the proper temper or roll-hardening, small articles cut therefrom have the quality of bending with safety in a direction transverse to the plane of the sheet, while offering a much greater resistance to bending in the direction of such plane, while, on the contrary, similar articles made of drawn wire of circular or other symmetrical section, bend about equally in any direction. This difference in the bending effect, and that superiority in edge-wise stability of the sheetmetal articles, are utilized and taken advantage of in my improved hook for hooks-andeyes, for aiding in securing several important utilities, as hereinafter more fully .eX- plained. I

In the accompanying drawing forming a part of this specification, Figure 1 is a plan view,-on an enlarged, scale,of a hookand-eye made in accordance with .my present invention, the eye being shown in'dotted lines; Fig. 2 is a side view of the hook, as-seen from below in Fig. 1, and Fig. 3 is an end view of the book as seen from-"the right-hand in Figs. 1 and 2. The set ofthree views, Figs. 1, 2 and'3, are drawn in projection with each other, to facilitate com parison of the various features of construction illustrated therein- ,Fig. 3 is a section in line J, J,Fig. 1, showing the arrangement of the four: side bars,tw o lower bars and two upper bars,to form four pairs. Figs. 4, 5 and 6, are a set of three views drawn in projection and corresponding to Figs. 1, 2 and 3, respectively, for showing an early stage of the operation of removing the eye (here shownin solid lines) from the hook. Figs. 7, 8 and-9 are a third and similar set of three views for showing a more advanced stage in the operation of removing the eye,

which is here shown turned to a position transverse to the hook, and ready for free removal. Fig. 10 is a plan view of the lower or base-portion of the hook with a certain modification. Fig. 11 is a plan view showing a sheet-metal hook-blank for the form of hook shown in Figs. 1 to 9, inclusive, but before bending to final shape. Fig. 12 is a plan view of one form of eye adapted to be punchedout of sheet-metal, and suitable for use in connection with thehook, it being the form shown in Figs. 1 tof9 inclusive. F ig,

13v is an oblique and more enlarged view of the hook,as seen from about the direction of thearrow 13 in Fig. 2,for more clearly illustrating the closing-cam faces which are acted upon by the side-bearing of the eye in the operation illustrated in the sets of views, Figs. 4, 5, 6, and Figs. 7, '8, 9, respectively.

Similar characters designate like parts in all the views. 3

Referring to and comparing Figs. 1 to 9, and Figs. 1 and 13, it-will be seen that a leading structural feature of the hook consists in the organization of the two bars 3 and 3"-, forming'the base B,- and the two non-contiguous upper bars 4, 4 ,forming the hook-point H,into four pairs. The twosaid lower side-bar's, 3, 3 are shown connected together at one end,at the left-hand in Figs. 1, 2, 4, 5, ,7, 8 and 11, by a large bend or curved loop, N, which is'an extension oftheseside-bars and lies in the same plane,'so that when subjected to fiexurathis effect naturally extends into "and throughout contiguous to each other, and together with the loop N constitute a substantially U the loop N. Thus the side-bars 3, 3 are arranged lengthwise of the hook andnonshaped and fiat base-member, B. For convenience. and to form fastening-loopsfor the hooks; and as an aid in holding the base B in place, especially during the sewing-on operation, the inwardly-extending guidepoint 6 is preferably formed midway of the length of the loop N, for aiding in restraining the hook from a lateral or turning movement upon the fabric, by projecting between two groups of stitches (not shown) passing in the usual manner over the loops 5, 5", respectively. This construction I deem preferable for the larger sizes of the hooks, especially in cases where anextra degree of security is desired.

The upper bars at, 45 are connected by the hook-point curve 7 lying in the same horizontal plane with the bars, these three details together constituting the hook H,see Figs. 1, 2 and 11. While the lower bars 3, 3 form a lower or base pair, and the upper bars 4:, 4 forman upper pair, the lower bar 3 and upper bar at form a right-hand pair, and the opposite bars 3 and l forma lefthand pair, as clearly shown in Fig. 3% The pair of side-bars 3, 1 are connected at the right-hand end by a hook-bend 8, and the pair of side-bars 3 4:, by the hook-bend 8*. Thus the two horizontally-disposed closable pairs of side-bars are connected by curved parts at the left-hand end, while the two vertically-disposed pairs are connected by curved parts at the right-hand ends thereof, and the four bars and the four connecting curved parts, or bends, together form a closed circuit (Fig. 11) in which the flexing of any part naturally causes the stress and fieXure to extend into all parts of this circuit, thereby making all the metal in the device to serve together, and by reason of this peculiar efficiency making a relatively small-sized hook serviceable for a relatively heavy duty. The curved attaching loop N, although a single part, is in one sense a resilient continuation of each of the side-bars of the base-portion of the hook. Each'pair of said bar-connecting curved parts or bends form fulcrumpoints for the spring-action of the other pair to move toward and from each other in a direction transverse to the spring-action of the other pair of bends.

Thus the hook-point bend 7 and the eyebend N form a pair which serves as the fulcrum-point, as regards the spring-action toward and from each other, of the vertically-disposed hook-bends 8 and 8 And, similarly the vertically-disposed bends 8 and 8 serve as such fulcrum-points for the spring-action of the hook-point 7 upwardly from and downwardly-toward the eyebend N.

My improved hook when in blank-form, see Fig. -11comprises two long side members connected at each end by a loop or curved part, and having about midway of their length, reversely-formed curved or inwardly-bended portions which, on folding the blank into a hook, constitute arm-closing cam-faces, as 10, 10, arranged to be operated on by the eye, as E, for closing the two sidepairs of hook-bars,as 3, S and 4c, t,-each pair toward the other pair for permitting the free withdrawal of the eye.

Owing to the peculiarly favorable qualr ties of sheet-metal when properly prepared, the thickness of the sheet-material in the hook-blank of Fig. 11, may in practice be much less than the diameter of a wire from which. a bent-wire hook-blank may be made of corresponding strength and mode of action, and hence the sheetmetal hook can be made of proper strength while having a lesser over-all dimension, as indicated at 60, Fig. 3, thereby effectively meeting one of the most important requirements at the present time in this class of manufacture. By making the hook-blank of the sheet-metal con struction, as in Fig. 11, the bars 3, of the base member, can be wider than. the bars 4, 4 of the hook-point H. The broader metal thus obtained in the hook-bends, gives the greater initial rigidity desirable at those bends, on which the strain is chiefly sus tained while the hooks are in use. Also, the relatively greater size of the said lower side-bars, secures a greater stability of the device as a whol while in use, and this is combined with a relatively greater flexibility of the hook-sides 1 and 1. But these upper side-bars being the shorter pair, their lateraloperative resistance may just about equal that of the longer and larger pair of lower side-bars 3 and 3 and this latter re sult is further secured by the fiexure of those lower bars extending around the sideloops 5 and 5 Referring to Fig. 11, the upper side-member of the hook-blank comprises the side-bar 3 of the base 13, and the side-bar 4: of the hook-point H, these being the side-bars included in the side pair 3 and 4-, Fig. 3. Said upper side-member, however, (Fig. 11) comprises an intermediate length, 8, extending across the bend-Zone Z, and so arranged in its shape and location as to provide an inclined or curved face, as 10, adapted and located in the completed hook for serving as a cam face. Similarly the lower side-member of the hook-blank, comprises the side bars 3 and (forming the left-hand side-pair I in Fig. 3 and these are connected by part 8, which has a corresponding but reverselylocated cam-face 16 The bend-zone lengths 8, 8 of the hook-blank, Fig. 11, are adapted to be bent into a curved form,as seen in the edge views, Figs. 2, 5, 8,-for serving as hooks or hook-ends for the lower bars 3 and 3*, respectively. Between these hooksmembers 8, 8 a mid-width space is provided at 9, (Figs. 1,3, 4, 6, 11,) for permitting the side-pairs of the hook to be resiliently closed together, as illustrated in Figs. 7 and 9. The

cam-faces 10, 10 are located in the hookblank, (Fig. 11) near the inner ends of the side-bars 4t, 4:,respectively and consequently near one edge of the bendzone Z; this, in

jacent to the hook point, Thus, indented side spaces are provided wherein an eye, E, may lie, without closing the space 9,'see Figs. 1 and 2. I

In Fig. 10, a modification in shape of the base-member B is shown, being here designated by B. The side bars 3, 3 are provided with outwardly extending loops, 3, 3 through which to make stitches in sewing on; these loops may be located at any convenient point along the side bars, but are preferably placed near the hook-bends 8, 8

In Fig. 12, there is shown a'sheet metal eye E which is provided with some suitable end-loops, as t, 25, whereby to attach the eyes to a garment by sewing on, in the usual manner. The eye has a draft-bar Z and two bearing faces Z), 7), fixedly-located at the opposite sides respectively of the hook-space S, for operating on the cam-faces 10, 10, respectively, of the hook,see Figs. 6 and 9,for closing the aforesaid side-pairs 3, 3 and 4, 4, from their open position in Figs. 1, and lto their closed position in Figs. 7 and 9. lVhen removing the eye E from the hook, the eye will turn about the outer edge of the draft bar (Z as a fulcrum point. The draft bar (Z of the sheet metal eye E is of sufficient width so that its outer edge will be disposed at 'a point removed from the portions 8 and 8 when the eye is in extended position, see Fig. 2, which point will allow the proper leverage for said eye by means of which it presses against the surfaces 10 and 10 without requiring that it be first. moved away from said portions 8 and 8*. WVhen the eye lies flat, as at E, Figs. 1 and 2, the draftbar (Z normally lies near the plane of the member B, and the side-pairs of thehook stand open or spread apart, as in Fig. 1, with the eye lying entirely below the cam-faces 10, 10, which thus lock the eye upon the hook. On taking hold of the eye for removing it (the eye being sewn to a garment, not shown) the operator turns the eye as by a rotative movement about the bar (Z from the position in Fig. 2, first up to the position in Fig. 5, and finally to the position in Figs.

7 and 8, where it stands transverse to the plane of the member B. During thls movement of the cye,the bar (Z acting as a journal therefor,the bearing-faces b, 6, come up against the cam-faces 10, 10, as in Figs. at, 5 6 and then act through said cam-faces to resiliently close in the side-pairs of the hook at the h'ook-ends thereof, as shown in Figs. 7 and 9; at this time the width over the bars 4, P, has been so reduced (Fig. 7) that the eye may be readily slippedoff from the'hook-point H, by a sliding movement toward the left-hand, as will now be evident from Figs. 7 and 8; and during that resilient closing together of the cam-end of the hook, this movement is resisted by the combined resistance to fiexure of the curve 7 and the loop N, thus supplying a double resistance hand to the position E, and neXt passes it down to the position E, Figs. 1 and 2, when the side-pairs of the hook spring outward, and bring the cam-faces into place above the eye for detaining this member in place.

The described construction, in the sheetmetal hook-blank, of the parts .8, seem nishes a broad and well-formed surface within those curved hook-portions to serve as a bearing for the bard during the turning movement of the eye, and also-gives to these books a high degree of stability for sustaining the pull of the eye thereon. Each of these hooks, 8, 8 connects through its side-bar with both of the attaching curves 5 and 5*, so that the draft of the eye in a diagonal direction and upon either said hook 8 'or 8 will be at once sustained by both said attached'loops 5 and 5 owing to the rigid connection of these loops the one to the other and their inclusion in the circuit-form and continuous hook-blank. 7

When the four resilient side-bar members, as regards the ends thereof near the hookends of the device, are cut from sheet-metal in a continuous blank, and are, by a transverse folding over, combined into two sidepairs as described, these side pairs are re siliently closable at the folded over ends thereof in a direction edgewise of the sheetmetal in the side-bar members, this direction being also transversely of the base-portion, as B, and of the point portion, as H, and the extent of such closing movement being limited by the mid-width space, as- 9, between such side-pairs. The cam-faces as 10, 10, being located,in the sheet-metal form of the hook,on the cut-edge surface of the metal (between the hook-point, as H, and the side bars, as 3, 3 of the base-portion, as B, of the hook), and being oppositely-disposed, are cooperative with the actuator-faces, as b, b, of any suitable form of eye, for closing the hook at one end thereice ative for locking the eye (Figs. 13,) in place when the eye lies extended in the direction of the plane of the base-portion of the hook,as in Fig. 2. And the resistance,- in this form of the sheet-metal hook, to the eye-releasing closure of the side-pairs involves overcoming the combined edgewise resilience of the sheet-metal in both the point H and base B, which is readily accomplished by the described turning movement of the eye, as E, operating as a lever device therefor. 7

Having thus described my invention, I claim:

1. In interlocking hooks-and-eyes, the combination, with an eye having a fulcrumbar and two opposing actuator faces, of a sheet-metal hook consisting of an endless strip of metal folded transversely, in a bend zone having located therein oppositely-disposed cam-faces cooperative with the actuator-faces of the eye for closing the hook at one end thereof for releasing the eye, and operative for locking the eye in place when this lies extended in the direction of the plane of the base-portion of the hook, the fulcrum-bar of said eye being of sufficient Width so that in looking position, its fulcrum point extends a suflicient distance from the bend zone, in order to be in position to allow the proper leverage without requiring it to be first moved away from said bend zone.

2. In a sheet metal hook device of the class specified, in combination, a hook point and a base member disposed in difierent planes to one another, both being formed of one endless strip stamped out of sheet metal, the hook point having two sides that converge toward one another and form a closed point at one end of the hook point, the two sides at the other end of the hook point curving out of the plane of the hook point, extending in the same direction with one another and bending inwardly to form cam faces, then bending into the plane of the base member where they extend substantially parallel to one another for a certain distance, and then forming an enlarged loop-like conformation with one another, the fiat metal strip portionsof the base member lying in one plane and the flat metal strip portions of the hook point lying in one plane so that these metal strip portions will flex in an edgewise direction, the enlarged loop-like portion serving to permit the greater distribution of the flexure.

3. In a sheet-metal hook device of the class specified, in combination, a hook point and a base member disposed in differentplanes to one another, both being formed of one endless strip stamped out of sheet metal, the hook point having two sides that form a closed point at one end of the hook point, the two sides at the other end of the hook point curving out of the plane of the hook point, extending in the same direction with one another and bending inwardly to form cam faces, then bending into the plane of the base member where they form a loop-like conformation with one another, the flat metal strip portions of the base member lying in one plane and the flat metal strip portions of the hook point lying in one plane so that these metal strip portions will'fiex in an edgewise direction.

4-. In interlocking hooks and eyes, the combination with an eye having a fulcrum bar and two opposing actuator faces, of a sheet metal hook comprehending a continuous loop-like configuration resilient transversely throughout its extent and including spaced laterals carrying oppositely disposed marginal cam faces, said laterals being bent back on themselves to form a hook bill and to bring said cam faces wholly within the quadrant of the bend Zone adjacent the hook bill to be engaged by the actuator faces of the eye when the latter is rotated through an arc of 90 to compress the hook.

ALBERT T. VAN ALSTYN.

Witnesses:

H. D. PENNEY, JOHN MORRIS.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of Fatents. Washington, I). G. 

